Police Confirm Arrest of Maryam Sanda for Stabbing Husband to Death

The Nigerian Police have confirmed the arrest of Maryam Sanda for allegedly stabbing her husband, Bilyaminu Haliru Bello, to death.

Bilyaminu, 35, son of Dr. Mohammed Haliru Bello, a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been buried according to Islamic rites in Abuja, after prayers at the National Mosque.

Police Public Relations Officer, DPS Anjuguri Manzah, in a chat with newsmen said that the suspect was arrested on Sunday morning. He said that she would be charged to court after investigations have been concluded.

According to the police, the investigation was being handled by its homicide department, maintaining that investigation would be concluded soon.

Maryam is the daughter of Maimuna Aliyu, a former Aso Saving Bank executive.
According to reports, Maryam allegedly killed her husband in the wee hours of Sunday morning by stabbing him several times.

Multiple reports said she attacked her husband based on allegations of infidelity after seeing a text message on his phone.

Maryam was said to have stabbed Bello, who would have turned 36 on November 23, thrice in the back. She also reportedly stabbed him several times in his genitals.

After stabbing him, she drove him to the hospital for treatment but he did not survive the attack.
Anjuri Manza, spokesman of the FCT police command, confirmed the murder: “We are investigating the matter.”
According to reports, it was not the first time Maryam would attack Bilyaminu violently.

She once bit off part of his ear during an argument. Bello was treated at a hospital before returning home. Some reports said he was advised to leave the house but he refused, only to be brutally attacked the second time.
The couple had a daughter together.

Bilyaminu’s father was the acting chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees from 2015-2016, Minister of Defence from 2011-2012, and Minister of Communications from 2001-2003.

Also, more facts came to light Tuesday on how Maryam allegedly stabbed her husband to death, as one Habib Gajam, a resident of Abuja, has spoken on the incident.

Gajam, who said he witnessed the incident, explained how trouble started on Saturday night, reported The Cable Tuesday.

Recounting what transpired on Twitter, Gajam said Sanda had demanded a divorce.
He said Ibrahim Aliero, Bilyaminu’s friend, subsequently “intervened four times to stop Maryam from stabbing her husband”.

When he could not make much headway, their relatives were invited to intervene in the situation after which peace was restored, albeit temporarily.

“Ibrahim called Auta (Maryam’s uncle) and Abba (Bilyaminu’s cousin) who had left the house moments before the drama started, to come and intervene. After a short calm, Maryam broke a bottle containing some groundnut and attempted to stab Bilyaminu, again,” he wrote.

“This time he held both of her hands and struggled to take the bottle from her, injuring himself in the process. Unrelenting and wild, she bit his finger. Uncle Auta had arrived this time to calm the situation.

“They both committed to Uncle Auta to let go of the grievances (at least for the night). After the situation had become calm, Bilyaminu and his friend went to the pharmacy to get his hand treated from the bite he sustained from Maryam.

“They later went to the ATM and made a withdrawal to pay up the balance of a spare part for Maryam’s crashed car. By 11 p.m., Bilyaminu and Ibrahim had gone back to a calm home. Abba (Bilyaminu’s cousin) joined them in the living room.

“They stayed till almost midnight and decided to call it a night. When Bilyaminu was seeing them off, he told Ibrahim, ‘I don’t want to go back until she’s asleep.’ They called it a day. Abba and Ibrahim left.”

He added that the next time they heard of Bilyamin and Maryam was around 2 a.m. when “family members were summoned to a Maitama hospital, where Bilyaminu was lying in a pool of his own blood with multiple stabs on his chest, shoulder, a deep cut on his inner thigh, and many bite wounds on his stomach”.

“Maryam had confessed to stabbing him to the hospital authorities,” he wrote, adding: “Maitama police station was the next point of call.

“At Maitama station where Maryam was asked to write her statement, the story changed. She claimed they got involved in a fight and Bilyaminu sustained injuries from a broken shisha pot; that she never stabbed or hit him.

“She was later taken to the FCT command in Garki II for further investigation. The police commissioner instructed that the crime scene should be visited.

“To the amazement of Abba (Bilyaminu’s cousin) and Ibrahim (his friend) who are key witnesses in the investigation, bloodstains had been mopped up, murder weapon disappeared, but flower vases and a shisha pot were broken to corroborate Maryam’s earlier statement at the station.”

Gajam’s claims were not independently verified, but Anjuri Manza, spokesman of FCT police command, had said on Sunday that the police had commenced investigation into the matter.

No amount of infidelity will orchestrate such a heinous crime. The lady is born wicked and a violent character.

Olalekan

Let the law take it FULL cos. That girl has a seed of evil in her. She will live the rest of her life in agony n pain, why must killing another human being be solution or make someone happy?, I don’t get it. What kind of nature is this. Jesus Christ demonstrated that we even love our enemies n pray for them. He even asked God to forgive those who killed Him. OMG!.Such a fine gentleman!

chyke

I guess that is why people who find themselves in her position normally put in a plea of Temporary Insanity in court.
Unfortunately anger makes us irrational at times, to what degree varies.

chyke

Very sad, an action perpetrated in rage. One life gone and another who knows.

kemi

Jon west is right. They carry violence in their genes.

Romla

Make God save us all,make we no carry our hand put “Winch” for house.

Jon West

The “winch ” is prevalent in the blighted and hedonistic North of Nigeria. They have no value for human life and the gender makes no difference. Mr Romla, your wife is unlikely to stab you several times and thereafter take your dead body to a hospital, without any anguish. We are different from these people and a seperation is an imperative.

Samson Judah

Of course we don’t belong together by our orientation to life and vision of tomorrow. A more reason they don’t want us away from them.

Jon West

Violence is in the genes of these people.

bigdaddy

You are really a nut job. Which people are you referring to? Is there any group of people immune to violence?

Jon West

No group of people is immune to violence. However, my Igbo wife is unlikely to stab me several times, and then carry my dead boy to a hospital without anguish. Some people have violence in their DNA, hence pogroms, genocide, Maitasine, religious violence over Danish cartoons, political violence,herdsmen , Boko Haram etc. You just have to admit it. Some Nigerians are animals.

Jon, you are right. I remembered serving in Bauchi and there was one of those religeious fracas. Killing and violence was on for 2 weeks. I know it’s in some human to be violent. But There is a sector of nigeria that don’t value human life. Every little thing, they go looking for who to kill. Years ago, I would swear with my life that Nigerian cannot be a suicide bomber, but we see it every now and then, same people and same places. For someone to be arguing otherwise instead of looking for ways to change the people is ignorance gone on rampage……

bigdaddy

King Sam, so you do not want me to argue that we northerners do not have a genetic cause for violence? Ok, let me agree with you that violence in the north is because ALL northerners have a gene for violence. Can you please tell me suggest those ways we can change this gene since according to you i am ” arguing …. instead of looking for ways to change…”
Remember though before you suggest anything that genetic issues have no cure.

Jon West I appreciate how you’ve been able to keep your logical stance without being distracted. At first, I was slightly offended at your initial comment but I’m glad you were able to reiterate your point repeatedly: prevalence is the problem. Your argument is superior.

I think many social scientists here including myself will agree that where it is establishable that above-average prevalence exists amongst a certain group of people, then the situation easily lends itself to a genetical explanation. It’s a simple scientific law.

I’m going to use a real life example. The Igbo-ora people of Yoruba have been statistically established to have a twin incidence rate of about 20 in every 1,000 births, vs the global 4 in every 1,000 births. So it’s statistically established, if you’re from that town in Southwest Nigeria, you are at least 5 times more likely to give birth to twins than the average human – simply because of your genes. Good.

But notice that this high incidence rate doesn’t apply other Yoruba tribes. Just Igbo-ora.

True, there’s a prevalence problem, and there may actually be a correlation with genes and violence. However we can’t easily conclude that fast yet. There is too much is at stake to so easily conclude, brother.

bigdaddy

Mr Seun Obatuyi, glad you could join the debate. Like Jon west, you have left the actual premise of my debate with him.
Mr Jon west claimed and has been claiming long before now, that the disproportionately larger incidence of violence in the north is genetically determined. He quickly dropped the premise of his initial argument when he was given a link to a similar story about a woman from Rivers (after claiming it was highly unlikely) who did a similar thing and now claims it is actually the prevalence that is the problem. A social scientist (and a fair one at that) will look at the bigger picture and analyze all the variables that might be at play. But no, Jon west will quickly latch on to his well known disdain for every northerner and claim it is genetic and every northerner is so afflicted. If you have been on this forum for quite a while, you would know that Jon west has no explanation for every short coming of the northerner, real or imagined by him, rather than the genetic argument.

I am not a social scientist like you Mr Seun, but i am disappointed that being one, your opinion seems to be tilted towards the genetic argument without even bringing up the social angle!! As a social scientist you should know the debate about nature vs nurture and from my little knowledge, nurture trumps nature in shaping the character, attitude and comportment of individuals on the general scale.

The problem of violence in the north (mob violence because the prevalence of all other types of violence is equally distributed everywhere in this country) is determined primarily by 3 major factors; Islam, illiteracy and a breakdown in family and social values. The profile of the typical northerner that engages in the type of mob violence that frequently erupts in the north associated with religious undertones is that of a stark illiterate, brain washed by an equally illiterate and most often fanatic Mallam who gives him religious instruction in the Arabic language that he cannot comprehend. In their warped world, it is blasphemy to even question anything you are told is from the Quran. So they swallow line, hook and sinker every instruction the Mallam dishes out whether it is true or false. They cannot read the Quran and understand it despite the fact they have been forced to cram it from page one to the last and they can regurgitate it for you line by line without making a single mistake. Majority absolutely do not understand what they were forced to cram including yours truly. The saving grace for most people is western education, which admit it or not, actually enlightens, “civilises” and gives you the power for critical thinking. Most of these miscreants have no such education and are easily misled. You can hardly ever see an educated person carrying a weapon and engaging in mob action. Are there educated people that perhaps control them? Definitely that is plausible but you wont find educated people making up a significant part of the mob. I am a Muslim so i should know. There are verses in the Quran that can be easily misinterpreted that seems to support recourse to violence. Most of the so called Mallams have no western education and many of them are Wahabists with their strong anti west rhetoric. That is the simple explanation to their tendency to violence and not a genetic predilection. Jon west that claims to have been born and raised in the north should understand that if he is not being his xenophobic self.

The third factor, i.e breakdown in family and community values aggravates the other two. Most of these miscreants are often from homes where the father is married to many wives with a horde of children he cannot name and cannot take of. So there is no significant parental influence in their upbringing and they pick their education from the streets. It is a big problem and i am ashamed to say it is super prevalent in the north.

Finally, since i am a Gynaecologist, let me correct your one sided opinion about why twinning is high among the Yorubas generally and higher even among some communities than others among that race. You are wrong that it is only seen in the community you mentioned . It is high even in some Yoruba communities in Benin republic and Togo.. It is not a settled matter as you make it out to be because the major issue scientist are looking at now is environmental issues especially diet. Some of the foods they eat have a very high content of phytoestrogens, a hormone that may explain their higher multi-ovulation rates that results in the higher incidence of fraternal twins. The reason environmental factors are being considered is research has shown that if you remove them from their environment, the high twining rate is lost in a generation. I am not saying there is no genetic contribution, just that there is no scientific evidence to support either theory.

Jon West

I appreacite your scientific and sociological explanation for Northern Nigerian violence, but I still stick to my observations. Yoruba moslems are also fed the same moslem trash by Alfas and Imams, but they do not kill like their Northern counterparts. Also other non-moslems in the North, especially the minority ethnicities ,who are also mostly christian, are usually very violent.
I urge my friends and relations to be wary of this factor in their dealings with Northerners whether christian, moslem , illiterate or with Harvard PhDs. El-Rufai and Buhari are poles apart in education, but the mindset, in relation to violence, is the same. So also the christian General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, a Jukun.

bigdaddy

1. The type of Islam fed to Yorubas is not the same brand fed the street urchins in the north. Besides, majority of Yoruba Muslims from my interaction with them, do not hold tenaciously to Islamic tenents. Is it any wonder the extremists in the north do not regard them as truly Muslims?
2. Give me an example of an incident in which the minorities in the north have attacked southerners. Communal clashes due to land disputes are excluded because that happens everywhere
3. Can you tell me how and where El-Rufai/TY Danjuma have advocated violence or what they have said and done that made you come to the conclusion that they have that inherent tendency towards violence? Please don’t go about the civil war as i expect you will in relation to Danjuma.

In the end Jon west, ( forgive me for psychoanalysing you, but truth be told, you have given alot of material that makes it irresistible not to do so) your views and reality about the North starts and ends with the civil war and your verdict that the only villain in that unfortunate event is the north. So you blame each and every tribe in the north as being responsible, after all the whole of north supported the war and at the upper echelon of the army then were the minority Christain middle belters. As an intellectual, you need to give us scientific proof to prove your genetic theory of violence. Failing to do so Mr Jon West, I advise every Nigerian- Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Efik, Ibibio, Jukun, Bura(like me) etc- to please ignore Jon West and judge every Nigerian/human being on the content of their character (to borrow the immortal words of MLK). Do not listen to people who disparage a whole race, tribe or community of people based on the failings of a few. That is the lowest of human instinct and only a xenophobe does that.

Jon West

I appreciate your angst, but Jon West a xenophobe? Really? I am more of a realist. If I were a white person, I would be quite contemptuous of Black people, who really appear to be unable to solve their problems, the level of education and exposure notwithstanding. I would not then consider myself a racist, just a realist facing very hard and sometimes sad facts.

The bloodletting in Northern Nigeria is hard to explain rationally, so a genetic predilection to violence is perhaps a way out to explain the mystery. I really wish to be in a different country from you people. It is quite interesting that it is a minority Northern moslem that is defending the North, like a mourner crying more than the bereaved , but this has always been the way of the people of the North. The oppressed always defended the system that oppresses them. Many of The greatest exponents of Arewa agenda are from the Middle Belt, where Fulani herdsmen are on the rampage. To hell with the North of Nigeria!!

bigdaddy

Lol. You never fail to disappoint. I guess i may not be wrong if i presume from your past comments that you are a geriatric (no insult intended). It is, as they say, quite difficult to change old people set in their ways.

Remember, we are discussing violence and your genetic postulation (you may consider “oppresssion ” as you opined above as a form of violence) but that is not our discourse. You quite often legitimize my opinions about your mindset by pivoting to the issue of Arewa agenda, domination and sometimes your paranoia of victimhood.
Dont forget, your postulation is that ALL Northerners have a significantly disproportionate share of genes that code for violence over and above what other Nigerians South of the Niger are endowed with. Are you now making a case for us, the northern minority as being lacking in that gene? Does that not discredit your unfortunate generalizations about your theory? I guess it does because you are upbraiding me a minority for defending the north. Or is Jon West the realist afraid to admit that the north is his code word for the Fulani/Hausa/kanuri?

bigdaddy

You are an intellectual Jon west, please drop your bigotry and xenophobia. This is not the first time i am admonishing you on this particular failing of yours. Your comments on social issues are mostly on point but where you lose must sane people is when you inject narcissism, hatred and bigotry into the discussion. Every human has his failings and yours ranks as low as the trait you rile against in A SMALL FRACTION of northerners. In the end, you are just as bad as they are.

I, and i am very sure you too, must have read of of similar incidents involving all the ethnic groups in this country. The reason this particular incident has attracted so much attention is because of the personality involved.

Yes you are right some Nigerians are animals and that cuts across every ethnic group. Stop trying so hard to be part of them.

Jon West

You don’t get the message, the prevalence is the problem. Political correctness will not make the problem go away.

bigdaddy

You make my point. What is politically correct in painting a heterogeneous or even a homogenous group of people with the same brush? Are all Arabs terrorists because Al qaeda and ISIS sprung from them?

Jon West

No, all Arabs are not terrorists, but terrorism is embedded in thier DNA. Study history and the sad fact will become apparent. While we are on the subject of terrorism, some religions also have terrorism and extremism embedded in their DNA. Again, history is my witness.

bigdaddy

On the issue of terrorism, extremism and religion you are almost right. Where you got it wrong is that it present in ALL religions not just SOME. History is my witness.
Tendency to violence is genetically determined in certain individuals and is found in equal measure in all races with no special penetrance or predilection in any group. You may blame nurture though in certain societies, but to claim there is a special genotypic exppression for violence based on an individuals ethnicity is being intellectually fraudulent/ignorant.

King Sam

No, all Arabs are not terrorist, but 90% of terrorists are Arabs….I rest my case! Terrorism is in their gene….

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